School sport talks hit deadlock
Calistus Kolantsho | Saturday May 21, 2022 06:39
The plan was to start the pilot phase for school sport in May. The implementation was to assist in preparing for the AUSC Region 5 Games scheduled for Malawi this December. Competition at the regional level was to be held between June 4 and 26 followed by the national finals for both athletics and ball games between July 6 and 12. The training camp for the AUSC Region 5 selected team is scheduled for August to November.
Addressing school heads and directors - regional operations last month in Francistown, Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) chief executive officer (CEO), Tuelo Serufho said the BNSC is now mandated with facilitating the implementation of school sport as per recommendations of the Joint Task Team Committee (JTTC).
“The pilot phase has three stages, namely zonal, regional and national level. The stages will be used to select the Botswana team for AUSC Region 5 and African Youth Games. There are 11 sports on the programme of these games. The BNSC will not facilitate any competition at school level and private schools to be involved,” he said.
Serufho said P24 million has been budgeted for the 2022–2023 financial year. The proposed budget will cover administration costs, sports equipment at all levels, allowances for coaches, technical officials, administrators, and volunteers. It also includes feeding at all levels but Serufho admitted that the budget falls short of what would be ideal.
Serufho confirmed to this publication that they have held a series of consultative meetings that include Botswana Integrated Sports Association (BISA) and Botswana Primary schools Sports Association (BOPSSA) executive, the administrative structures of the two bodies, and the conference of school heads.
“At all levels, there is an agreement on the need to return school sport soonest, for the benefit that we all know will accrue to students,” he said.
Serufho said there are, however, a few areas where the understanding was not common and they are busy engaging with other stakeholders such as the Ministry of Education and Skills Development and the Ministry of Local Government that we can determine how best to deal with, with such concerns.
Meanwhile, an official close to developments said the P24 million is a drop in the ocean and it would be better if the BNSC uses the money to consult further.
“In the JTTC report, MoESD (education ministry) is claiming that they are handing over school sport to MYGSC (Ministry of Youth, Gender, Sport, and Culture) but when you look at it, they are taking teachers away from sport. They want teachers to focus on the core business, which is teaching. MYGSC will end up using volunteers to coach students. That will not work because as a teacher I cannot hand over my students to a stranger,” a source said.
The source suggested that the government should find P60 million and allocate it to teacher unions to run sports.
“The Ministry of Education paid teachers overtime and when the wage bill went high, the ministry decided that through BISA, they will pay allowances starting at P500 to P1,000 at the national level. Now MYGSC comes empty-handed. They want school sport to resume but it is not an open issue. They want to use us to prepare the Region 5 Games team,” a source said.
The source said the 11 sporting codes, which are in the pilot phase, are specifically in the Region 5 programme.
“When school heads and directors were addressed, it was not clear what the ministry has for teachers,” the source said.
BOPPSA president, Busani Segweni told Mmegi Sport that nothing concrete has been agreed upon at the moment.
“It was just consultations. Nothing concrete,” he said.